But long days, arduous travel and logistical hurdles aside, the I Got Mind tour is hailing its 10-stop trip throughout Western Canada a success — or at least a solid first step — in the ongoing battle with mental health challenges among athletes.

So what’s next on the agenda with anxiety, depression or self-harm — among other concerns — on the rise?

More awareness and another year of helping ahead, with president Bob Wilkie and his expanding I Got Mind team taking what they’ve learned from the journey over the last year and using it to further arm themselves for another tour of 10 centres in the country.

“This program been an absolute dream of mine,” said Wilkie, who himself battled post-traumatic stress disorder for 20 years after playing 11 pro hockey seasons, including 18 games with the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings and Philadelphia Flyers. “I Got Mind’s mission is to create an awareness around mental health in young athletes and breaking down the social stigmas around the words ‘mental health.’

“It’s been so cool to see this dream start to come true.”

So 10 more events have been scheduled, beginning with one in Okotoks on Sept. 16.

The I Got Mind tour, in its second year, pushes not to just talk about mental health issues in the sports world but how to manage them.

And Wilkie & Co. now have ammo from its first-year visits to help athletes and their coaches and families go to war with these challenges.

In fact, having more than 2,000 people attend stops on the 2018-19 tour that opened last October in Calgary, I Got Mind has been able to gather statistics that are alarming.

“The statistics are staggering,” Wilkie said. “Our events have been overwhelming in the honesty about the issues athletes, parents and coaches are struggling with.”

More than 86% of attendees said they have struggled with variations of stress levels. Anxiety is coming in at 62%, depression is 46% and suicidal thoughts are at 30%.

I Got Mind, in conjunction with Hull Services, has taken the information from attendees and created an online learning platform where athletes, parents and coaches can take courses to learn how to become mentally healthy.

That training curriculum and the courses associated with it are slated to be launched online Oct. 1 at igotmind.ca.

“Thank goodness professional athletes started admitting they have mental health issues,” Wilkie said. “Because as soon as they started talking about it, it gave everybody else permission to start asking for help.”

Wilkie and his team want to tackle the issues before they become too serious or severe beyond help.

“The solutions are what we’re all about here at I Got Mind,” Wilkie said. “It’s not just talking about things. It’s about being able to create solutions.

“And working with athletes and families for so long, you start to identify with ways that are effective. What we wanted to do is get that out to large groups rather than just individuals.”

I Got Mind has also added other former high-level athletes to their roster to provide support. Maeghen Cotterill, an 11-time gold-medallist in women’s karate and kickboxing and owner of 5 Elements Martial Arts studio will be a staple for young women in sport. The team’s also added a former leader of the Mount Royal University’s women’s hockey team, Sarah Weninger,

Wilkie notes the addition of Cotterill and Weninger helps counteract the extreme lack of support for mental health issues among female athletes and in women’s sports.

Former CFL football player Josh Symons has joined I Got Mind, as has Dean Sawatzky, former athletic director of Calgary Academy, who becomes the director of coach programming, and Carly Warren, a former Boston University hockey player and now a psychologist at Hull Services.

“We are thrilled to have more retired athletes join our team to support the sporting community,” Wilkie said. “They have so much to add and share with the groups looking for insights to create a safe and productive environment for the athletes, parents and coaches.”

Group tickets for the tour are being offered to sporting associations when more than 15 tickets are being purchased.

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